Status Updates From The Henna Wars

i get nishat didnt explain to flávia the 1 of 2 other poc character (thats not nishat's family) in the book, why doing henna is cultural appropriation is a missed learning moment for not only flávia but also readers. it almost seems worse 1 of the very few poc characters saying "im a artist, you're not, so there for i can culturally appropriate and ignore you telling me off" than a white ignorant racist doing it ngl

god the racism is fucked!
besides that, the main character's parents not accepting her coming out, while upsetting, its really realistic, and its not something ive come across often in queer books i read, which is actually kind of surprising given its so realistic? like i get the escapism is real - would you rather read a story that everyone accepts queers or a story that mirrors your own coming out, which is fair